Flanked by Gov. Dannel Malloy, left, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is greeted by Housatonic Community College President Anita Gliniecki as she arrives to meet with local and state officials in Bridgeport on Thursday, November 1, 2012.

Photo: Brian A. Pounds

Flanked by Gov. Dannel Malloy, left, Homeland Security Secretary...

(Connecticut National Guard)
Photo: Connecticut National Guard

(Connecticut National Guard)

(Connecticut National Guard)
Photo: Connecticut National Guard

(Connecticut National Guard)

Photographs taken by the Connecticut National Guard on Tuesday, October 30, 2012, during an aerial assessment of damage caused along the Connecticut shoreline by Hurricane Sandy. (Connecticut National Guard)
Photo: Connecticut National Guard, Contributed Photo

After stepping out of the closed-door meeting to speak with President Obama for the fourth time since the storm, Malloy was informed that the state has been approved for a 100% cost share for the first 10 days after the hurricane. The funding will pay for emergency power restoration and public transportation assistance for the four shoreline counties that have already received a major disaster declaration.

Funding will mean that state and local agencies will not be required to pay a 25-percent cost share.

Two Black Hawk helicopters toured the shore from New Haven to Fairfield.

"I think it put it into perspective the amount of damage and the amount of retained water on the high side of the ground that people are literally sitting in," Malloy said.

"It's one thing to hear about damage," she said. "It's another thing to see it and to understand the impact on people as they go through this. And some have been through it a couple of times, so that's really a tough situation." She promised to bring whatever resources that can be brought to bear.

"This is the time when we need to be here," Napolitano said. "We need to be helping people get back in their homes. We need to be helping communities get restored. We need to make sure that the infrastructure of this state is made whole. We understand the urgency of the situation in the sense that people now are eager to get back to life and get the kids back at school and everybody back to work and the like."

She said that next week, other FEMA centers will open in the affected counties beyond the one already open in Bridgeport.

"I'm pleased to say, by the way, that the shelter population in Connecticut has really gone down," Napolitano said. "I actually take it as a good sign that the shelters are unoccupied at this point in time."

Under the federal emergency declaration, those left homeless can immediately apply for relief including temporary housing assistance. She said damage assistance reviews will begin on Thursday.

Sen. Joe Lieberman, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, praised Napolitano's presence and the president's quick response six years after the poor response to the needs of the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

"The spectacle of disaster is staggering," said U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who was on the helicopter tour. "There are nightmare neighborhoods, literally homes lifted, beams thrown around like toy parts, fields flooded, beaches completely destroyed and I think that very dramatic is worth 1,000 of our words, certainly for the secretary in terms of her coming to see it for herself."

In response to a reporter, Malloy said "there's no free pass" for UI and CL&P. "There will be more than enough time to analyze what they have or have not done. UI has about 50,000 more outages than that had with Irene. CL&P has fewer. We're going to hold them accountable."

Blumenthal said that he has heard from local leaders throughout the state who are complaining about the "apparent lack of organization" among the major power companies.

"There's growing impatience, and even anger, and understandably and we'll see what the results are over the next couple of days," Blumenthal said.

After the brief news conference, Mayor Bill Finch told reporters he is not happy with United Illuminating Co.'s response to the city's needs.

"I know their crews are working hard," Finch said. "But I think we shouldn't evenly distribute crews around the state. We should focus on the most vulnerable populations. People that are on oxygen. People that are seniors in high-rises. People that don't have heat and are very poor. And get the schools and the hospitals and the sewage plants up and running in the cities first. There should be a high priority for critical populations, sensitive populations and critical infrastructure."